Hi Thom. It was very nice meeting you today at the Trolley Museum. I applaud you for posting this video on DC Transit day, and I’m excited to watch it through!
Hey Nathan and Thom! Great to meet both of you today at NCTM, and hope we can again soon. Appreciate the work you both do in creating videos that are both fun and informative
I am very impressed by the continuity of your narration, especially since the various segments were shot over a span of several months! This is an editing tour de force!
When i saw the length I was dubious, then I really got into it. You did an excellent job as this all is gone, and frankly being Washington D.C. old systems tend to not last there. Thanks for the history here!
Yet another well researched and well produced video Thom! Your dedication to presenting not only current transit, but also historic systems in a way thats approachable for so many people is extremely commendable. Definitely looking forward to continue working with you on future projects at the National Capital Trolley Museum!
What a delightful video! I've lived in and visited a lot of cities that used to have streetcars, and never even thought about whether the old carbarns are still there. They are delightful pieces of history. Thank you for sharing them with us, as well as how the DC streetcars with underground third rail worked!
Glad you were able to visit the National Capital Trolley Museum. What's ironic is you can't get there by mass transit. The museum is only open on Saturdays while the Ride On route 39 bus which runs past the museum only runs Monday to Friday. You can always take an Uber or taxi from the Glenmont Metro Red line station. As for the current DC streetcar it was supposed to be extended west across DC to Georgetown and east along Benning Road to the Minnesota Avenue Metro Orange line station. Maybe someday.
Portland used to have one. There is a really old one that went from Portland to Eugene (2 hr drive) with a few branches going west, that lasted from 1908-1933, then there was a more recent one that only went around downtown Portland in the 40s and 50s. The old one was a HUGE system known as the Oregon Electric railroad that actually used to own part of the WES commuter rail line. They had some beef with Southern Pacific, which ran their own red electric trains. The Portland & Western Railroad, which runs WES, has a whole district called the Oregon Electric District. Where are these railcars now? I have no idea. I believe they all got scrapped.
And a big portion of the old OE right of way is now the west side of the MAX blue and red lines. But some old right of ways are still visible on Google maps if you look hard enough.
We could really use some digging up of old streetcar tracks and relaying of tracks along street medians and other former streetcar rights-of-way. It would reduce traffic congestion for real and propel us towards a more eco-friendly future. Pretty much all of western Europe did it. But let's start with extending the existing streetcar to Minnesota Avenue station, building the line in Anacostia, as well as a thought that I've had recently to extend the streetcar underground right to the metro at Union Station and converting some Circulator routes into streetcars.
I visited DC in 1963 to stay with relatives in Rockville MD, it was a 21st birthday present. As a traction enthusiast it was disappointing to have just missed the streetcars, but also interesting to see most of the tracks still in place. Thank you for a great video which records this important era of a city’s life. I can remember the end of the “trams” in Manchester UK, my local city, and I was pleased to be associated with their reintroduction some 35 years later !
In 1959 when I was 15 my family crossed the USA on vacation with a visit to Washington on way. I think I saw a couple of those slot fed streetcars shortly before they were removed from service. Thanks for this great video that I have been expecting from you since you moved to DC.
Fantastic work. Thanks for your efforts and for featuring the NCTM. It's a treasure. And as you touched on with the Arlington street car system, there are tons of obscure items in the suburbs that could be a separate project, such as the Mt. Vernon Loop, the bridge piers in Rock Creek next to Kensington Parkway for the Kensington & Chevy Chase Railway, streets in north Bethesda that follow the Washington & Rockville right of way, the loop around Friendship Heights at Wisconsin Circle, and so on. By the way, I saw Todd Rundgren (ok, boomer..) perform at Capital Turn Around about 3 years ago. Seating in front of the stage was in the area that housed the transfer table. Seating on the sides was where the maintenance bays were.
38:35 currently writing this comment on lunch break at that four mile metrobus garage. As a bus mechanic, DMV local and total transit nerd I absolutely LOVE your videos man and hope maybe some of these easter eggs my badge will let me into see lol
It’s really sad seeing how railroads used to be America’s planes, we’re so close yet so far to having good railways, so many cities, such as Los Angeles have had their streetcars ripped out and years later were replaced with much shorter lines. I really hope America can make a comeback in railroading. Great historic video though, Thom!
This video is OFF THE CHARTS !!!!!!! Fantastic work. I am located in Staten Island, NY but my heart is in Brooklyn, NY. I have vast knowledge of the Brooklyn trolley network. I have been looking for more information of the D.C. system. This video really filled that void. I have to visit the National Capitol Trolley Museum. Keep up the GREAT work !!!!!!!
I truly wonder what would have happened if DC went the route (no pun intended) of New York or Boston or Philadelphia or Chicago and converted some of their lines to true underground rail in the 1910's-1920's and then evolved into a different sort of Metro. I feel like the WMATA Metrorail of today would do better as a "suburban" system with a separate "DC Subway". I cannot imagine how much work and travel went into this great video. Nice to see a bit of local-to-me history! Thank you, Thom! Unrelated: There is more trestle, belonging to the old Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, as you travel north on Clara Barton Parkway in Maryland if you wish to check that out eventually.
That was brilliant thom,in London conduit was used also in the central area,the Kingsway tram subway is still there (unused unfortunately) but the conduit can be seen.that was very informative thom ,I doubt I will ever go to Washington, but your programme makes it seem I've been.well done mate.
Fabulous video. Thanks for the great effort that went into putting it together. As a side note (you probably already know this), there was a turn around in Rosslyn just over Key bridge - still has a circle look. I remember seeing the trolleys there as a kid.
A lot of information . I never knew that DC had so many competing street car companies in the past . I only knew of DC Transit which formed the basis for Metro . Outstanding research for the young man !
Hey! This video is just fantastic! Fun, good rhythm, entertaining and extremely informative. It is like watching National Geographic! I really enjoyed it and learning so much about the DC streetcar system. Splendid video!
An informative and entertaining documentary, Thom. I will have to watch it a second and probably a third time to process all the information. What is clear is the automobile has much to answer for in developing dysfunctional urban areas. Keep up the great work and thanks for Louie’s cameo. He has great screen presence and is yet unaffected by his fame.
Excellent documentation and quality graphics and maps!!! You left no stone unturned. Thank you for the truly exhaustive and exhilarating lesson- long live the streetcars of Washington!!!!!! Fun fact- there are still rails under D St NE, East of 8th street. The pavement is old, and the asphalt is ripping and cracking right where the tracks are, exposing the rails themselves at times!!
Awesome video! I love finding remnants of an old era of transit. I live a block away from the abandoned north shore line interurban which I can walk to and still see the rails in place.
@@Thom-TRA Yep! They tend to be away from public roads but there's some places that are more secluded (and accessible to the public) where you can still see the rails in place.
Enjoyed the video a lot. Always love learning about history and finding the remains of what used to be. Hope you can visit some more cities and cover the past. There are plenty of remnants of the old trollies here in NYC. I know Philadelphia as a lot too. Keep up the good work and leave your electric dumpsters at home 9:14.
Awesome video Thom! I have some cool spots to check out next time I'm in DC. Loved the deep dive into the history combined with all the on location shots.
This is by far your most detailed, interesting video with stunning photography, with a lot of your own down and dirty personal insights. Great job, Thom. As a trolley buff myself, I loved all the details of the DC system. FYI, there are several trolley museums in PA for future (or maybe not) videos: Washington PA, East Broad Top and my favorite at Steamtown in Scranton. Have a look sometime if you haven't already done so.
I'm surprised this wasn't mentioned but today is also national capital trolley museum's DC transit day. Which marks the 63rd anniversary of the last day of streetcar service.
I had somewhat been waiting for this! A very awesome video. I'd love to see longer videos like this in the future. It'll take me a while to fully watch it but, wow, it's high production quality. An interesting thing I've noticed is that some of the most used Metrobus routes are the ones that used to be streetcars... makes sense, hopefully we can see these bus routes return to their old forms in the future.
The revised better bus network, the one they’re actually going to implement, is not that different from the current system ironically. Seems the current routes do a pretty good job.
16:49 - ive always been a big fan of miniature models, and this is no exception! id love to go here sometime! 18:32 - stuff like this always makes me happy to see that infastructure that told stories about the past not only exists, but it also looks like it is maintained regularly! 21:04 - manhole covers like this are getting to grow on me, seeing companies that have not existed for nearly a century and yet they can get a person to research what once was and learn more about how stuff used to be done is intresting 31:21 i know that this is a documentary about streetcars, but whats the articulated bus in that pic? ive never seen anything like it before! Also cue in the milesintransit Diner sound! I may make additional notes later, but either way, i enjoy the extensive coverage of the history of the streetcars of our country's capital (and surrounding areas)!
8:37 So anytime we Arsenal fans watch a match at Franklin Hall (Florida Ave car barn), we're also visiting a relic of DC transportation history? Sweet!
Great video Thom! Thursday was the 62nd anniversary of the North Shore Line's last day of service. When I was going to college in Chicago back in the mid 1980's, you could still see traces of the streetcar network in the city. From the rails embedded in the bridge decks and many streets outside of the loop. But, as the streets and bridges were resurfaced over the years, the rails were pulled up. There used to be some trolley tunnels in the Loop but those were closed off years ago. But many of the poles that are used for streetlights (and the wires) used to support the trolley wires. You can tell because they are opposite of each other as you go down the streets. Chicago once had the largest streetcar network in the world. But, they were all gone by 1958. It was a huge mistake on the city's part.
Thom, nice to see that so many relics remain, if you know where to look. In NYC in the 1980s, I still saw a few streets in Queens and Brooklyn that had rails in the pavement. I wonder if any are still there. I know of at least one car barn remnant in Woodside, Queens, on Northern Blvd. at Newtown Rd., which can be viewed on Google Street View. It serves as a shopping center entrance. No doubt is was not uncommon for bus route numbers to have taken over the ancestral streetcar routes. Brooklyn and Buffalo, NY are examples. I hope to get back to the D.C. area some day, and I'll look for the Dupont Circle station.
Your next Europe trip should be to the Isle of Man where they still have an operational horse-pulled tram, along with a steam rail line and a vintage electric rail line.
Fascinating hunting trip. If you ever get to Fort Worth, you ought to see what you can find of the old subway that used to run from a parking lot on the edge of downtown, a site along the Trinity river, to Tandy Center in the middle of downtown.
Thom, you need to take a trip up to Steamtown in Scranton, PA. Not only is this the location of a notional museum of steam trains but just across the parking lot is the Electric City Trolley Museum. Just across the Lackawanna River is the Lackawanna Coal mine tour. Having worked in Mass Transit all of my life I was surprised to see how many artifacts that I recognized in this trolley museum. I have a pretty good idea of how they wound up here. Anyway I think you might enjoy a trip to these three locations.
This is a hell of a lot of information, that I cannot comment about most of the my thoughts I had during watching it. I appreciate your efforts to make this video. Anyway, the saddest part is that the last alive remnant of the network will soon be gone. I wish WMATA would preserve some historically important lines with a certain letter numbering, like how the West Berlin government made M buses to inherit some streetcar lines. (Even though I am not happy with the decision itself that the city government decided to remove the network)
Hello Back in June 1960, I visited Washington DC. And yes I remember seeing those PCC cars in action. By then the DC system was a.l conduit because the outlying lines like to Glen Echo Park was abandoned and rails ripped up. WHAT A SHAME. ON THE CONDUIT SYSTEM, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE REUSED AS IS WITH IMPROVEMENTS FOR SEMI AUTOMATIC CLEANING FO MAINTENANCE, AUTOMATIC PLOW ENGAGEMENTS, YES I,VE BEEN WORKING ON SOME INOVATED IDEAS TO IMPROVE THE CONDUIT SYSTEM. ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF CONDUIT PLOWS STILL IN OPERATION IS THE MULES THAT PULL THE SHIPS THROUGH THE LOCKS OF THE PANAMA CANAL. YOU HAVE TO REMEBER THAT ELECTRIC RAIL TRANSIT WAS FOR THE MOST PART DESTROYED BY FRONT COMPANIES WORKING THROUGH GENERAL MOTORS CALLED "NATIONAL CITY LINES" AFTER 1962 JUST LOOK AT PICTURES OF BUS CONVERSIONS BROUGHT TO YOU BY GENERAL MOTORS. AND RAIL TRANSIT BACK THEN WAS NOT IMPROVED OR RESERCHED FOR THE BETTER. TODAY'S TRA SIT COMPANIES ESPECIALLY IN MY OPINION , THE MBTA OF BOSTON, IS STILL TRYING TO HOLD ON TO THE NATIONAL CITY LINES CONSPIRACY OF PUSHING LIKE BATTERY BUSES, THAT ARE TERRIBLE ON ROAD I FRASRTUCTURE... I,VE acquired my skill sets being a licensed electrician for 52 plus years. I,m still currently employed full time by MBTA/,keolis commuter services.Nobody in the organization wants to listen to any inovated ideas to improve electrical distribution of systems related to rai mass transit. MISS PAULA WALACH-FORMER INDUSTRIAL ELECTRICIAN-UNION MEMBER IBEW LICENSED SINCE 1972. PLEASE KEEP MAKING VIDEOS.
I watched a video a few months back from “Your Average Railfan” on the cancelled DC Streetcar Anacostia line. Would you be interested in checking it out and making your own video?
@Trains Are Awesome Did you say Toddle House? If so, that was the precursor to the modern day Waffle House. Also, Laurel, MD still has the trolley station, though it is now a bar and I don't believe there are any trolley remnants.
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Fantastic video! Thanks for visiting us and for your work telling the story of this important part of our local history.
Thank you!!! Love you guys
Hi Thom. It was very nice meeting you today at the Trolley Museum. I applaud you for posting this video on DC Transit day, and I’m excited to watch it through!
Thanks, it was nice to meet you too!
Hey Nathan and Thom! Great to meet both of you today at NCTM, and hope we can again soon. Appreciate the work you both do in creating videos that are both fun and informative
I am very impressed by the continuity of your narration, especially since the various segments were shot over a span of several months! This is an editing tour de force!
Thank you! There are a few moments here and there where I refer to something that when filming, I thought I would have already discussed
An hour of TRA, insane! Looking forward to watching this over a few days!
Only the best for you
When i saw the length I was dubious, then I really got into it. You did an excellent job as this all is gone, and frankly being Washington D.C. old systems tend to not last there. Thanks for the history here!
Feel free to digest in bite-size chunks
@@Thom-TRA Good advice! I watched the video in three sittings.
Yet another well researched and well produced video Thom! Your dedication to presenting not only current transit, but also historic systems in a way thats approachable for so many people is extremely commendable. Definitely looking forward to continue working with you on future projects at the National Capital Trolley Museum!
It was good to see you today! Thanks for all your help with this
9:13 “looks like they accidentally left their dumpsters out on the street”
🔥🔥🔥
After this week, the gloves are off
What a delightful video! I've lived in and visited a lot of cities that used to have streetcars, and never even thought about whether the old carbarns are still there. They are delightful pieces of history. Thank you for sharing them with us, as well as how the DC streetcars with underground third rail worked!
Glad you were able to visit the National Capital Trolley Museum. What's ironic is you can't get there by mass transit. The museum is only open on Saturdays while the Ride On route 39 bus which runs past the museum only runs Monday to Friday. You can always take an Uber or taxi from the Glenmont Metro Red line station.
As for the current DC streetcar it was supposed to be extended west across DC to Georgetown and east along Benning Road to the Minnesota Avenue Metro Orange line station. Maybe someday.
Montgomery county really should fund bus service for the hours that the museum is open, given the relationship they have with the museum
9:14 I never knew people built refrigerators with wheels on them!!
Fr
It’s so Indiana Jones can survive another nuclear blast
@@Thom-TRA Hahaha, but he won't survive a car crash.
Portland used to have one. There is a really old one that went from Portland to Eugene (2 hr drive) with a few branches going west, that lasted from 1908-1933, then there was a more recent one that only went around downtown Portland in the 40s and 50s. The old one was a HUGE system known as the Oregon Electric railroad that actually used to own part of the WES commuter rail line. They had some beef with Southern Pacific, which ran their own red electric trains. The Portland & Western Railroad, which runs WES, has a whole district called the Oregon Electric District. Where are these railcars now? I have no idea. I believe they all got scrapped.
And a big portion of the old OE right of way is now the west side of the MAX blue and red lines. But some old right of ways are still visible on Google maps if you look hard enough.
@ only the Forest Grove branch
@OtterMan310 true
We could really use some digging up of old streetcar tracks and relaying of tracks along street medians and other former streetcar rights-of-way. It would reduce traffic congestion for real and propel us towards a more eco-friendly future. Pretty much all of western Europe did it. But let's start with extending the existing streetcar to Minnesota Avenue station, building the line in Anacostia, as well as a thought that I've had recently to extend the streetcar underground right to the metro at Union Station and converting some Circulator routes into streetcars.
I visited DC in 1963 to stay with relatives in Rockville MD, it was a 21st birthday present. As a traction enthusiast it was disappointing to have just missed the streetcars, but also interesting to see most of the tracks still in place. Thank you for a great video which records this important era of a city’s life. I can remember the end of the “trams” in Manchester UK, my local city, and I was pleased to be associated with their reintroduction some 35 years later !
Oh that is disappointing! Glad you had a good trip nonetheless
In 1959 when I was 15 my family crossed the USA on vacation with a visit to Washington on way. I think I saw a couple of those slot fed streetcars shortly before they were removed from service. Thanks for this great video that I have been expecting from you since you moved to DC.
A very impressive video. I appreciate the research integrated into all the site visits. Congratulations. It was worth the 56 minutes.
That is a huge compliment:)
Fantastic work. Thanks for your efforts and for featuring the NCTM. It's a treasure. And as you touched on with the Arlington street car system, there are tons of obscure items in the suburbs that could be a separate project, such as the Mt. Vernon Loop, the bridge piers in Rock Creek next to Kensington Parkway for the Kensington & Chevy Chase Railway, streets in north Bethesda that follow the Washington & Rockville right of way, the loop around Friendship Heights at Wisconsin Circle, and so on. By the way, I saw Todd Rundgren (ok, boomer..) perform at Capital Turn Around about 3 years ago. Seating in front of the stage was in the area that housed the transfer table. Seating on the sides was where the maintenance bays were.
Thanks for listing some of the suburban destinations! And yes, the museum has some wonderful people.
38:35 currently writing this comment on lunch break at that four mile metrobus garage. As a bus mechanic, DMV local and total transit nerd I absolutely LOVE your videos man and hope maybe some of these easter eggs my badge will let me into see lol
If you ever wanna give a tour of the garage know I’d be happy to stop by! Thanks for working hard
It’s really sad seeing how railroads used to be America’s planes, we’re so close yet so far to having good railways, so many cities, such as Los Angeles have had their streetcars ripped out and years later were replaced with much shorter lines. I really hope America can make a comeback in railroading. Great historic video though, Thom!
This video is OFF THE CHARTS !!!!!!! Fantastic work. I am located in Staten Island, NY but my heart is in Brooklyn, NY. I have vast knowledge of the Brooklyn trolley network. I have been looking for more information of the D.C. system. This video really filled that void. I have to visit the National Capitol Trolley Museum. Keep up the GREAT work !!!!!!!
We will be happy to welcome you!
Thom, this is so impressive! At the moment I don’t have the words to do it justice.
And that’s alright. I used plenty of words for the both of us 😂
I truly wonder what would have happened if DC went the route (no pun intended) of New York or Boston or Philadelphia or Chicago and converted some of their lines to true underground rail in the 1910's-1920's and then evolved into a different sort of Metro. I feel like the WMATA Metrorail of today would do better as a "suburban" system with a separate "DC Subway".
I cannot imagine how much work and travel went into this great video. Nice to see a bit of local-to-me history! Thank you, Thom!
Unrelated: There is more trestle, belonging to the old Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, as you travel north on Clara Barton Parkway in Maryland if you wish to check that out eventually.
Yes, I believe I’ve biked under it once! Maybe this summer I’ll do something on rail trails
Thanks!
Thank you!!
Great meeting you today. Watching this now before I load up my shots from today.
Great meeting you too! Let me know when they’re done, would love to see them
Thom, The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is the best!!!
In the summer heat, train tracks can expand which could cause warping/bending of the tracks. That is why CSX issues heat restrictions
There is Dupont Underground in Dupont Circle which is the abandoned underground portion
That was brilliant thom,in London conduit was used also in the central area,the Kingsway tram subway is still there (unused unfortunately) but the conduit can be seen.that was very informative thom ,I doubt I will ever go to Washington, but your programme makes it seem I've been.well done mate.
Thank you! If you ever do come, please let me know!
Saw the track geometry car the other day and thought of you
Aww how sweet haha
Thom with all the heat.....rolling dumpsters
After this week the gloves are off
@Thom-TRA as they should be. Keep up the amazing work, i just love your videos. Combining my passions for history and trains.
Fabulous video. Thanks for the great effort that went into putting it together. As a side note (you probably already know this), there was a turn around in Rosslyn just over Key bridge - still has a circle look. I remember seeing the trolleys there as a kid.
A lot of information . I never knew that DC had so many competing street car companies in the past . I only knew of DC Transit which formed the basis for Metro . Outstanding research for the young man !
There’s nothing more American haha
I've been to National Capital Trolley Museum in Cloverly, MD. They've got trams from Blackpool in England there too! Such a cool place.
Excellent content ! 👍🏻 Thanks, Thom !
Thank you!
Hey! This video is just fantastic! Fun, good rhythm, entertaining and extremely informative. It is like watching National Geographic! I really enjoyed it and learning so much about the DC streetcar system.
Splendid video!
Thank you! That’s a big compliment haha
An informative and entertaining documentary, Thom. I will have to watch it a second and probably a third time to process all the information. What is clear is the automobile has much to answer for in developing dysfunctional urban areas. Keep up the great work and thanks for Louie’s cameo. He has great screen presence and is yet unaffected by his fame.
Louie just thought the tripod was a toy, it’s all toys and treats in his world!
Excellent documentation and quality graphics and maps!!! You left no stone unturned. Thank you for the truly exhaustive and exhilarating lesson- long live the streetcars of Washington!!!!!!
Fun fact- there are still rails under D St NE, East of 8th street. The pavement is old, and the asphalt is ripping and cracking right where the tracks are, exposing the rails themselves at times!!
Good to know!!
Damn I was at that TJMaxx yesterday, I could’ve impressed all my fellow shoppers!
Shoot, what a missed opportunity! Haha
Thank your Thom, a wonder review of what was my home for over 50 years and a great reminder of what a great place it is to live and work.
I do love it here!
Awesome video! I love finding remnants of an old era of transit. I live a block away from the abandoned north shore line interurban which I can walk to and still see the rails in place.
I didn’t know the north shore still had rails preserved!
@@Thom-TRA Yep! They tend to be away from public roads but there's some places that are more secluded (and accessible to the public) where you can still see the rails in place.
Great video Thom and a lot of work you have put into it for your subscribers to enjoy
Thank you :)
Enjoyed the video a lot. Always love learning about history and finding the remains of what used to be. Hope you can visit some more cities and cover the past. There are plenty of remnants of the old trollies here in NYC. I know Philadelphia as a lot too. Keep up the good work and leave your electric dumpsters at home 9:14.
I would love to! I think Chicago is next for me
@ Nice!
Awesome video Thom! I have some cool spots to check out next time I'm in DC. Loved the deep dive into the history combined with all the on location shots.
Thanks! I hope the addresses help!
This is by far your most detailed, interesting video with stunning photography, with a lot of your own down and dirty personal insights. Great job, Thom. As a trolley buff myself, I loved all the details of the DC system. FYI, there are several trolley museums in PA for future (or maybe not) videos: Washington PA, East Broad Top and my favorite at Steamtown in Scranton. Have a look sometime if you haven't already done so.
I’ve already filmed a video in Washington PA! Hope to upload it soon
This might just be your magnum opus.
It certainly feels like my baby
I'm surprised this wasn't mentioned but today is also national capital trolley museum's DC transit day. Which marks the 63rd anniversary of the last day of streetcar service.
Guess where I am right now and why I released this today 😉
@Thom-TRA nice! Did you get to ride the 1101?
@ not yet!
@@Thom-TRAI was just there! nice meeting you irl
I had somewhat been waiting for this! A very awesome video. I'd love to see longer videos like this in the future. It'll take me a while to fully watch it but, wow, it's high production quality. An interesting thing I've noticed is that some of the most used Metrobus routes are the ones that used to be streetcars... makes sense, hopefully we can see these bus routes return to their old forms in the future.
The revised better bus network, the one they’re actually going to implement, is not that different from the current system ironically. Seems the current routes do a pretty good job.
16:49 - ive always been a big fan of miniature models, and this is no exception! id love to go here sometime!
18:32 - stuff like this always makes me happy to see that infastructure that told stories about the past not only exists, but it also looks like it is maintained regularly!
21:04 - manhole covers like this are getting to grow on me, seeing companies that have not existed for nearly a century and yet they can get a person to research what once was and learn more about how stuff used to be done is intresting
31:21 i know that this is a documentary about streetcars, but whats the articulated bus in that pic? ive never seen anything like it before!
Also cue in the milesintransit Diner sound!
I may make additional notes later, but either way, i enjoy the extensive coverage of the history of the streetcars of our country's capital (and surrounding areas)!
It was truly the first time I’d ever looked at a manhole cover before
8:37 So anytime we Arsenal fans watch a match at Franklin Hall (Florida Ave car barn), we're also visiting a relic of DC transportation history? Sweet!
It’s the best of both worlds!
Great video Thom! Thursday was the 62nd anniversary of the North Shore Line's last day of service. When I was going to college in Chicago back in the mid 1980's, you could still see traces of the streetcar network in the city. From the rails embedded in the bridge decks and many streets outside of the loop. But, as the streets and bridges were resurfaced over the years, the rails were pulled up. There used to be some trolley tunnels in the Loop but those were closed off years ago. But many of the poles that are used for streetlights (and the wires) used to support the trolley wires. You can tell because they are opposite of each other as you go down the streets. Chicago once had the largest streetcar network in the world. But, they were all gone by 1958. It was a huge mistake on the city's part.
I feel like Chicago got rid of a lot more than DC did for whatever reason
Thank you posting this. Your dog is so cute ❤️🐶
He’s the best!
TRA‘s biggest video and I‘m first! Let’s go!
What an achievement!
Thom, nice to see that so many relics remain, if you know where to look. In NYC in the 1980s, I still saw a few streets in Queens and Brooklyn that had rails in the pavement. I wonder if any are still there. I know of at least one car barn remnant in Woodside, Queens, on Northern Blvd. at Newtown Rd., which can be viewed on Google Street View. It serves as a shopping center entrance. No doubt is was not uncommon for bus route numbers to have taken over the ancestral streetcar routes. Brooklyn and Buffalo, NY are examples. I hope to get back to the D.C. area some day, and I'll look for the Dupont Circle station.
A NYC edition of this would be a good follow-up!
Some of the bus routes were remnants of the old streetcar lines
Correct
Great video on the oid DC street car's
Thanks!!!
@Thom-TRA your welcome
Your next Europe trip should be to the Isle of Man where they still have an operational horse-pulled tram, along with a steam rail line and a vintage electric rail line.
I would love to go there, it’s high on my list
I used to go to that museum so often when i was younger but since covid hours been limited
Very interesting
Brilliant video sir.
Many thanks!
Fascinating hunting trip. If you ever get to Fort Worth, you ought to see what you can find of the old subway that used to run from a parking lot on the edge of downtown, a site along the Trinity river, to Tandy Center in the middle of downtown.
They used to use old DC cars!!
Absolutely amazing video!!!!
Thank you so much!
Thom, you need to take a trip up to Steamtown in Scranton, PA. Not only is this the location of a notional museum of steam trains but just across the parking lot is the Electric City Trolley Museum. Just across the Lackawanna River is the Lackawanna Coal mine tour.
Having worked in Mass Transit all of my life I was surprised to see how many artifacts that I recognized in this trolley museum. I have a pretty good idea of how they wound up here. Anyway I think you might enjoy a trip to these three locations.
I’d love to!
Thanks
Thank you very much!
This is a hell of a lot of information, that I cannot comment about most of the my thoughts I had during watching it. I appreciate your efforts to make this video.
Anyway, the saddest part is that the last alive remnant of the network will soon be gone. I wish WMATA would preserve some historically important lines with a certain letter numbering, like how the West Berlin government made M buses to inherit some streetcar lines. (Even though I am not happy with the decision itself that the city government decided to remove the network)
Thankfully the museum will preserve the trains so at least that remains
Interesting side note, I believe I have found some, if not the only remaining wild rail of the w&od near falls church
Fascinating! Let me know where it is!!
Hey a friend of mine is a pastor at NCC.
28:30 Carring such giant fair tokens around in you wallet must've been a task in itself 😅.
Another reason why fashion designers are sexist. Only men have pockets that big!
Love it
Great documentary and well worthy of being republished with the sound levels corrected
Like what sound levels?
@Thom-TRA very hard to hear Josh at the museum
@ I’m not going to republish it for that. I don’t notice that much of a difference but I can just fix the volume a little bit
Was so wondering how you could successfully tie the whole together at the end and then Louie saved the day \m/
As he is known to do
You did not say so, but I assume the electric trolley were powered by DC power, right?
Correct, 600 volts!
Thoms next career: stunt man.
I’d be too powerful
Hello
Back in June 1960, I visited Washington DC. And yes I remember seeing those PCC cars in action. By then the DC system was a.l conduit because the outlying lines like to Glen Echo Park was abandoned and rails ripped up. WHAT A SHAME.
ON THE CONDUIT SYSTEM, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE REUSED AS IS WITH IMPROVEMENTS FOR SEMI AUTOMATIC CLEANING FO MAINTENANCE, AUTOMATIC PLOW ENGAGEMENTS, YES I,VE BEEN WORKING ON SOME INOVATED IDEAS TO IMPROVE THE CONDUIT SYSTEM. ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF CONDUIT PLOWS STILL IN OPERATION IS THE MULES THAT PULL THE SHIPS THROUGH THE LOCKS OF THE PANAMA CANAL.
YOU HAVE TO REMEBER THAT ELECTRIC RAIL TRANSIT WAS FOR THE MOST PART DESTROYED BY FRONT COMPANIES WORKING THROUGH GENERAL MOTORS CALLED "NATIONAL CITY LINES" AFTER 1962 JUST LOOK AT PICTURES OF BUS CONVERSIONS BROUGHT TO YOU BY GENERAL MOTORS. AND RAIL TRANSIT BACK THEN WAS NOT IMPROVED OR RESERCHED FOR THE BETTER. TODAY'S TRA SIT COMPANIES ESPECIALLY IN MY OPINION , THE MBTA OF BOSTON, IS STILL TRYING TO HOLD ON TO THE NATIONAL CITY LINES CONSPIRACY OF PUSHING LIKE BATTERY BUSES, THAT ARE TERRIBLE ON ROAD I FRASRTUCTURE...
I,VE acquired my skill sets being a licensed electrician for 52 plus years. I,m still currently employed full time by MBTA/,keolis commuter services.Nobody in the organization wants to listen to any inovated ideas to improve electrical distribution of systems related to rai mass transit.
MISS PAULA WALACH-FORMER INDUSTRIAL ELECTRICIAN-UNION MEMBER IBEW LICENSED SINCE 1972.
PLEASE KEEP MAKING VIDEOS.
IM THE FIRST PERSON TO SEE THIS VIDEO AHHHHHHH
Yayyyy congrats
Yay!
Let’s gooooo
@@Thom-TRA LETS GOOO
Calm down
Hi
Hey
I watched a video a few months back from “Your Average Railfan” on the cancelled DC Streetcar Anacostia line. Would you be interested in checking it out and making your own video?
Already filmed! Will be out soon
@ sweet!
We call them motorman not drivers like in England. Especially in my old hometown of NYC and its sister ciy Philadelphia.
@Trains Are Awesome Did you say Toddle House? If so, that was the precursor to the modern day Waffle House. Also, Laurel, MD still has the trolley station, though it is now a bar and I don't believe there are any trolley remnants.
Really? I’m going to go digging
Dog
The best dog